Automatic compartment-inflater for ships.



l. B. 1L IVI. KASSER.

AUTOMATIC COIVIPARTMENT INFLATER FOR SHIPS.

APPLICATION man JUNE B. 1914.

Patented Apr. 1.3, 1915.

3 BEEBTB-BHEET 1.

l. B. & IVI. KASSER.

AUTOMATIC COMPARTIVIENT INFLATEH FOR SHIPS.

APPLICATION msn luNE 8. 1914.

Ml @mmm Patented Apr.. 1l3, 1911.5.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

1. B. @L M. KASSER. 'I y AUTOMATIC COMPARTMENT INFLATER FOR SHIPS.

APPLICATION F|LD1uNE8.|914.

mmmwm@ Patented Apr. 113, 11915.

JUFEFH SSIEF ANID MORRIS KASSEE, SAN FRANGISCO, CIFORNIA.

AUTOATJEG COMPARTMJENT-ENFLATER FUR, SHIPS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr'. 13, 1215..

Application tiled .Tune 8, 191A. Serial No. 843,894L.

To all whom. it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOSEPH B. KAssnR and MORRIS KAssER, citizens of the United States, and residents of the city and county of San Francisco, State of California, have invented a new and useful llmprovement in Automatic Compartment-lnflaters for Ships, of which the following is a specification.

Uur invention relates to automatic compartment inaters for ships wherein a valve and deected bags operate in conjunction with a source of compressed air; and the objects of our invention are rst, to provide improved means for automatically inilating a bag within a shps compartment when the said compartment has beenpperforated or punctured below the water line; second, to provide im roved means for preventing the Houding o the compartment punctured; and third, to provide means for indicating the compartment punctured.

We accomplish' these several features by means of the device disclosed in the vdrawings 'forming a part of the present specilication wherein like'characters of reference are used to designate similar parts throughout the said specification and drawings and in which- Figure 1 is a broken sectional plan view of a vessel taken below decks and disclosing the air receiver, and the connections from the air receiver to thevarious compartments. Fig. 2 is a broken elevation of a vessel disclosing the connections from the main air pipes to the lower compartments. Fig. 3 is a broken vertical sectional view of one of .the compartments disclosing a deflated bag thereimthe float valve therein, and the manner in which the bag is connected to the valve on the air pipe, and the means secured to lthe valve stem and arranged to indicate the compartment punc- .tured Fi A is a view similar to Fig. 3 but disclosing the bag when indated. Fig. 5 is a broken detailed view of the indicator on one end of the valve stem which indicates that the compartment to which it is attached is punctured and that the valve is opened in that compartment and compressed air is being forced into the bag. Fig. 6 is a lvertical longitudinal section of one of the compartments disclosing the manner in which an inilated bag fills the compartment, the position of the float, when the air is turned'od', ivbeing indicated im dotted lines. Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view through one of the 4v alves disclosing the same in an open posi tron, and Fig. 8 isa transverse sectional vlew taken through one of the valves disclosing the manner in which the valve stems extend beyond the valve and into the interior of the hold to an indicator.

nate in the valves 9, having the stems 10 thereof extended in both directions.

A deated bag 12 is secured within the compartment and to the valve 9. A lever 14 is secured to one end of the valve stem V10 and is provided with a suitable float 15. The other end of the stem 10 extends beyond the wall of the compartment 2 and has an indicator 16 secured thereto, which is adapted to indicate the open and closed positions of the float 15 and lever 1A secured to thel valve 9.

The operation is as follows: Should a puncture occur in the outer wall of the compartment 2 at any point below the water line, the water could flow through the puncture and elevate the doatl, which would in -turn raise the lever lll, operate the stem 10 and open the valve 9 causing the compressed air to enter and inflate the bag 12 and nearly ll the compartment 2, as illustrated in Figs. A and 5 of the drawings, thus forcing out of the compartment 2 nearly all of the water which Howed into it through the puncture, and thereby restoring the buoyancy of the said compartment.

The normal positions of the parts are dis closed in Fig. 3 of the drawings, in which case the indicator 16 will point to the word Closed When the float 15 is elevated by means of water in the compartment 2, the

indicator 16 will point to the word @pen By this means, the location of a puncture or p .rupture of a ships bottom may be easily located, as well as the approximate extent, thereof For instance, if the vessel had impinged on a rock and had punctured a number of plates or compartments 2, the oat 15 would be raised in every compartment 2 to which water had been admitted and those compartments punctured would be indicated by the indicator 16, which would point to the word Open on the outer side of the compartment 2 and the inside of the ship, clearly indicating which compartments had been punctured and were being filled with air, and the approximate extent of the damage. In this manner, after a shock or collision, it is very easy to determine the approximate extentand location of the damage occasioned by such shock. It is also obvious, that while the bags 12 are normally deated and away from the outer plates of the compartment 2, that such bags 12 are not exposed to injury by reason of the punctures to the said plates and even were most of the outer plates entirely removed or carried away without destroying the bags 12, it is evident that the presence of water would cause each i'loat 15 below the' water line to rise and admit air from the compressed air pipes 8 to the bags 12. The' result would then be, that in place of a hole in the ship a pneumatic cushion composed of the bags 12 would be automatically brought in-to place and the buoyancy of the vessel would be sustained by reason of the said infiated bags taking the place of the destroyed compartments.

' It is obvious from the foregoing that we have provided improrved means for automatically inilating ship compartments when the said compartments have been punctured or perforated below.' the water line and we have also provided means whereby the approxiy mate extent and location of the damage to the outer plates of a ship, resulting through collision or other serious impact, may e indicated.

Having thus described our invention what we claim as new and desire to secure by Let- .ters Patent is- 1. An automatic compartment inflater comprising a compressed air pipe connected to the compartment; a bag secured within the conpartment and to the pipe; and means secured tothe pipe and adapted to automatically cause compressed air from the pipe to inflate the bag lwhen the said compartment is Hooded.

2. An automatic compartment inilater comprising a compressed air pipe connected to the compartment; a valve secured to the end of.l the compressed air pipe; a bag securedfwithin the compartment and to the valve on the compressed air pipe; and means ,adapted to be operated by water within the compartment and to open the valve and iniiate the bag in the said compartment.

erated by the entrance of water within the compartment for the purpose of inflating the bag from the compressed air pipe; and means for indicating that the bag within the compartment is being infiated.

5. A n automatic compartment iniater comprising a compressed air pipe connected with the compartment; a valve secured to the end of the compressed air pipe; a bag secured to the valve; means adapted to be operated by the entrance of water within the compartment for the purpose of inating the bag from the .compressed air` pipe; and means secured to thevalve and adapted to indicate that the said valve is open,V

6. An automatic compartment iniiater comprising a compressed air ipe connectedl with the compartment; a va ve secured to the end of the compressed air pipe; a bag secured to the valve; means adapted to be operated by the entrance of water within the compartment for the purpose of infiating the bag from the compressed airpipe; and

an indlcatorsecured to the yvalve and extending to the outside of the compartment and adapted to indicate that the valve is'open.

7. An automaticl compartment inflater comprising a compressedair pipe extending into the compartment; a valve secured to the air pipe and having a stem extending beyond the compartment; a bag within the compartment and secured to the valve; a lever having a suitable fioat on the end thereof secured to the valve stem and adapted to open the valve and inflate -the bag when water enters the compartment; and an indicator on the end of the stem beyond the compartment adapted to indicate the open and clos'ed position of the valve.

In witness `whereof we hereunto yset our signatures in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. i JOSEPH B. KASSER.-

l MORRIS KASSER.

Witnesses: C

BERNICE Moons; JAimsF. MCCUE. 

